Collection highlights Indian art from period after British rule Zimmerli Art Museum to run exhibit, cultural events through July 31

Collection highlights Indian art
from period after British rule
Zimmerli Art Museum
to run exhibit, cultural
events through July 31

Arpana Caur, Tree of Suffering, Tree of Life, Tree of Enlightenment, 1998, Collection of Maddipote and Kamla Choudry

The largest exhibit of contemporary Indian art in the United States is currently on display at the Jane Voorhees Zimmerli Art Museum in New Brunswick.

"India: Contemporary Art from Northeastern Private Collections" includes more than 100 works of art created since 1947 when India received its independence from British rule.

"They believed they were leaving behind the aspect of British control, thus allowing Indian culture itself to flourish from its origins," museum Senior Curator Jeffrey Wechsler said in describing the importance of the newly found independence to Indian artists at the time

Although the trend in modern Indian art began more than 50 years ago, the international art community has been slow to recognize it.

Maqbool Fida Husain, Yatra, 1956, Collection of Thomas Keehn

However, with the recent increase in the number of people of Indian heritage living in the United States, specifically in central New Jersey, the decision was made by the Zimmerli to educate people about this rising art form.

"When a time slot opened for a new exhibit,… we decided that, given the importance of this population in this community, we really should not delay," Wechsler said.

Contemporary Indian art is characterized by the use of modern art techniques and materials to express traditional Indian themes.

"In exterior form, it looks like modern art, but the important thing is that the subject matter is specific and unique to India," Wechsler said.

Above, Satish Gujral, Twins, circa 1995, Collection of Ravi and Virginia Akhoury. At left, Manjit Bawa, Untitled, circa 1995, Collection of Sharad and Mahinder Tak

Many people are familiar with traditional Indian miniature paintings, which contain precisely drawn, realistic images. One characteristic of modern Indian art is that it is often more abstract than traditional Indian art.

For example, one painting in the exhibit, titled The Pathway, shows a blue and purple disk floating above a cream-colored field divided by a crooked blue fissure. The exhibition catalog reveals that the painting’s creator, Kattingeri Krishna Hebbar, infused the blue and purple disk with a double meaning — it represents Earth, but also bindu, the Indian concept of creation.

Another characteristic of modern Indian art is its use of contemporary materials to convey traditional images.

For example, in the sculpture Shankari, artist Ravinder Reddy translates the robust female figure of historical Indian paintings into a three-dimensional sculpture of a larger-than-life woman’s head. The colors — gold, red and black — are borrowed from traditional Indian paintings, but the sculpture is made from 20th century polyester resin fiberglass.

Other Indian artists have created a form of abstract art that was inspired by modern art’s use of color and geometric forms yet is uniquely their own. Referred to as "neo-tantric" art, these paintings contain images that are based on traditional religious and spiritual tantric symbols.

An example is Syed Haider Raza’s painting titled Prkariti (Nature). The painting looks like a quilt in that it consists of colorful squares, each of which contains a symbol representing different aspects of nature, such as the sun, sky, air, fire, water and earth.

"India: Contemporary Art from Northeastern Private Collections" will run through July 31.

The museum is offering a full calendar of cultural events, including gallery tours, film screenings and yoga lessons to also further educate the public about Indian art and culture.

For more information, contact the museum at (732) 932-7237.